[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E175-E176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                100TH BIRTHDAY OF LANDIS, NORTH CAROLINA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HOWARD COBLE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 14, 2001

  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, a town in the Sixth District of North 
Carolina will celebrate its centennial next month, and I wish to take 
this opportunity to congratulate Landis, North Carolina, on its 100th 
birthday. Landis was founded in southern Rowan County on March 7, 1901, 
by a group of investors in the textile industry. The first textile 
operation was Linn Mill that was started on land owned by Columbus 
Linn. The founding fathers of the town that would later be named Landis 
were, in essence, the board of directors of the newly formed mill 
company.
  How the town came to be known as Landis is subject of much 
discussion. According to Ted L. Allen, author of the Historical Survey 
(June 1974 N.C. Department of Natural and Economic Resources), Landis 
was named after famed jurist and baseball legend Judge Kennesaw 
Mountain Landis. According to Allen, ``In 1901, the U.S. Government 
brought an anti-trust suit against a major U.S. oil company. The judge 
residing on the anti-trust case was Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis. As 
a result of the large sum of money involved, 29 million dollars, and 
the name of the judge in the case, a motion was made one evening in an 
informal discussion that the town be named Landis. The community 
leaders adopted the name and the name was submitted to the post office 
department. The post office department did not object and on March 7, 
1901, the N.C. General Assembly ratified the incorporation of the Town 
of Landis, North Carolina.''
  This story was well accepted by old timers in town. While it is a 
good story, there are a few holes in it. President Theodore Roosevelt 
didn't appoint Judge Landis until 1905. The oil company was Standard 
Oil Company and it appears that this case did not occur until the 
middle or latter part of the first decade of the 1900's. According to 
Frederick Corriher, his grandfather, Lotan A. Corriher, one of the 
original members of the Linn Mill board of directors, suggested that 
the town being named for Judge Landis at a town meeting in the 1920's. 
At that time, Judge Landis was commissioner of Major League Baseball, 
and thanks to the Black Sox scandal, was a national figure. Therefore, 
there is some friendly controversy about the naming of this town, but 
there are no disagreements about the future of Landis.
  The future for Landis is bright. During its first 100 years, Landis 
has developed into a thriving bedroom community of more than 3,000 with 
a balance of industry and commercial growth. The town, always self-
reliant, is a full-service small municipality. Landis remains true to 
its heritage as a textile community. Parkdale Mills, for example, 
operates two plants there.

[[Page E176]]

  On behalf of the citizens of the Sixth District of North Carolina, we 
congratulate Landis, North Carolina on its centennial celebration. We 
offer our best wishes for much prosperity and success during the 
century to come.

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